Tracing Quotations
Will Smith? Jim Rohn? Tim Ferriss? Jack Canfield? Janet Switzer? Daniel G. Amen? Loral Langemeier? Keith Cunningham? Ty Talcott? Scott Elliott? Paula Owens? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: You are deeply influenced by the actions and behaviors of your friends and companions. You consciously and unconsciously imitate what you perceive in your local environment. The …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Are the Average of the Five People You Spend the Most Time With”
Groucho Marx? Robert Quillen? Robert O. Ryder? Dorothy Uris? Evan Esar? Agro B. Arlo? Laurence J. Peter? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The informal term “necking” refers to kissing and caressing amorously. A comedian once said: Whoever called it necking was a poor judge of anatomy. Do you know who crafted this joke? Was it …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Whoever Named It Necking Was a Poor Judge of Anatomy”
Voltaire? Louis Mayeul Chaudon? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous French writer Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) apparently said something like: Life is bristling with thorns. One must travel through them quickly to minimize the pain and harm. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: Voltaire died in 1778, and …
Arthur Brisbane? Confucius? Kathleen Caffyn? Frederick R. Barnard? Robert Maguire? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous adage highlights the value of illustrations and photographs. Here are four versions: (1) A picture is worth ten thousand words(2) A picture is worth a thousand words.(3) One picture is worth a ten thousand words.(4) One picture is …
Continue reading “Maxim Origin: A Picture Is Worth Ten Thousand Words”
Nora Roberts? Eileen Wilks? Lori Avocato? Susan Elizabeth Phillips? Bonnie Hearn Hill? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When you are attempting to write a book you must move forward and put words on a blank page or screen even if you fear that your output is flawed. Eventually, you will be able to revise and …
Continue reading “Origin of Writing Advice: I Can Fix a Bad Page. I Can’t Fix a Blank One”
James Baldwin? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Change is onerous. The prominent writer James Baldwin once constructed a vivid analogy between change and birth. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1977 James Baldwin published an article titled “Every Good-bye Ain’t Gone” in “New York” magazine containing the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Most of Us Are About as Eager To Be Changed as We Were To Be Born”
Buckminster Fuller? Richard Dreyfuss? C. S. Lewis? William Nicholson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent futurist once said that our planet did not come with an instruction book. Therefore, we should act carefully while creating our own instruction book for living and flourishing. I think the author of this notion was Buckminster Fuller. Would …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Spaceship Earth: No Instruction Book Came With It”
Jean-Luc Godard? D. W. Griffith? Evelyn D. Miller? Frederick James Smith? George W. Sears? John Philip Sousa? Abel Gance? Fredric Wertham? Charlie Chaplin? John Boorman? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A powerful and jaded film director once listed the two crucial ingredients to achieve success: All you need for a movie is a girl and …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: All You Need To Make a Movie Is a Girl and a Gun”
Jean-Luc Godard? Roger Ebert? Gene Siskel? Nancy O’Higgins? Apocryphal Question for Quote Investigator: An influential film critic decided to become a filmmaker. Here are four versions of the explanation provided by the critic for this notable transformation: 1. Instead of writing criticism, I make a film.2. The only way to criticize a movie is to …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Instead of Writing Criticism, I Make a Film”
Wilma Mankiller? Cherokee Precept? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Everyone faces major setbacks in life. Maintaining a constructive outlook is essential to being resilient and moving forward. The following guidance can be difficult to follow, but it is enormously helpful: No matter what situation you’re in, find something good about it. This advice has been …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: No Matter What Situation You’re In, Find Something Good About It”